MEN'S BASKETBALL WILL TRY TO PLAY SPOILER WEDNESDAY AT NORTHERN COLORADO

3/1/2011

Freshman Kendell Groom is averaging a team-high one steal every 8.6 minutes of play

GAME PREVIEW

Sacramento State (7-20, 4-11), which was eliminated from Big Sky Tournament contention with Saturday’s 73-70 home loss to Weber State, will try to play the role of spoiler this Wednesday when the team travels to Greeley to take on Northern Colorado (18-10, 12-3)…tip-off at the Butler-Hancock Pavilion is 6:05 p.m. PST…the Hornets will be playing in their final contest of the season…with a victory, the Bears would win the conference’s regular season championship outright and gain the right to host the Big Sky Tournament semifinal and championship rounds next week…that would mark the first time Northern Colorado has hosted the Big Sky Championship since joining the league in 2006-07…if the Bears lose to the Hornets, and Weber State defeats Eastern Washington at home, the Wildcats would earn the No. 1 seed and the right to host the tournament…Sacramento State is just 1-13 on the road this season, but won its most recent league game away from home, a 74-71 victory at Montana State on Feb. 13…conversely, Northern Colorado is a perfect 12-0 at home, winning games inside Butler-Hancock by an average of 18.2 points per game…in fact, the Bears have won all but one of their home games by double figures…entering last week’s play, Sacramento State was in contention to earn as high as a five seed in the Big Sky Tournament, but dropped both home contests, including a 63-42 loss to Northern Arizona on Thursday…should Sacramento State win on Wednesday, the team would accumulate five conference wins which would tie for the third most since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97…the Hornets lost to all eight conference opponents when playing them for the first time this year, but are 4-3 when playing league teams for the second time…Northern Colorado defeated the Hornets earlier this year in Sacramento (77-72 on Jan. 20), and own a 7-2 all-time record against Sacramento State…that includes a 3-1 mark in Greeley…Wednesday’s game can be seen live and free via webcast at www.bigskytv.org…the game can also be heard live locally on KRJY 1240 AM, and on the internet at www.hornetsports.com with play-by-play announcer Steve McElroy calling the action…live stats can be found at www.uncbears.com.

For Sacramento State's complete set of game notes, click on the link above the story.